Valerie Møller, Benjamin J. Roberts, Dalindyebo Zani
{"title":"‘Born Free’ Dreams: South African Township Youth Discuss Their Hopes for a Better Life in Future","authors":"Valerie Møller, Benjamin J. Roberts, Dalindyebo Zani","doi":"10.1007/s11482-024-10303-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11482-024-10303-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The advent of democracy in 1994 promised South Africans a ‘better life for all’ and the so-called ‘born free’ generation hoped for better education and job opportunities than those of their parents and grandparents, who had lived under apartheid. In focus group discussions, township youth living in a small university town in the country’s poorest Eastern Cape Province had the opportunity to express what hopes they had for their future in the post-Covid-19 era and confirmed the important role of hope in their lives as a useful tool that motivated them to aspire to fulfil their dreams. In response to select items from the Snyder hope scales, youth discussed their life goals, optimism, agency, and pathway thinking to realise their dreams. Youth recognised hope could be both harmful as well as useful. The discussions provided an opportunity for youth to share and compare with others their experiences of disappointment and failure, of times when they had felt hopeless, with the worst cases of hopelessness resulting in alcohol and substance abuse, which was reportedly widespread among township youth. Family, neighbours and significant others provided support and advice that assisted youth to recover from hopelessness, and to find new direction in life. Results from this qualitative study point to the importance of providing township youth with a platform to share their experiences of hopelessness. Policy and practical interventions are needed to support and guide hopeless youth to regain their mental health, well-being, and hope for the future.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51483,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research in Quality of Life","volume":"19 4","pages":"1681 - 1709"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11482-024-10303-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140573250","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dawid Gondek, Laura Bernardi, Eoin McElroy, Chiara L. Comolli
{"title":"Why do Middle-Aged Adults Report Worse Mental Health and Wellbeing than Younger Adults? An Exploratory Network Analysis of the Swiss Household Panel Data","authors":"Dawid Gondek, Laura Bernardi, Eoin McElroy, Chiara L. Comolli","doi":"10.1007/s11482-024-10274-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11482-024-10274-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Despite the growing consensus that midlife appears to be a particularly vulnerable life phase for lower mental health and wellbeing, little is known about the potential reasons for this phenomenon or who the individuals at higher risk are. Our study used six waves (2013–2018) of the Swiss Household Panel (n = 5,315), to compare the distribution of mental health and wellbeing, as well as their key correlates, between midlife (40–55 years) and younger adults (25–39 years) in Switzerland. Moreover, using network analysis to investigate interrelationships across life domains, we describe the complex interrelations between multiple domain-specific correlates and indicators of both mental health and wellbeing across the two age groups. Middle-aged (age 40–55) individuals reported lower life satisfaction and joy, as well as higher anger, sadness, and worry than young adults (age 25–39), with the effect sizes reaching up to 0.20 Cohen’s d. They also reported lower social support, relationships satisfaction, health satisfaction, and higher job demands and job insecurity. Relationships satisfaction and social support were the most consistent correlates across all three indicators of wellbeing in both age groups. Health satisfaction was more strongly, and directly, interrelated with energy and optimism in midlife compared with young adulthood (0.21 vs 0.12, p = 0.007). Job demands were more strongly linked with anger and sadness in midlife. The network model helped us to identify correlates or their clusters with direct and strong links to mental health and wellbeing. We hypothesised that health satisfaction, relationships satisfaction, social support, and job demands may help to explain worse mental health and wellbeing in midlife.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51483,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research in Quality of Life","volume":"19 4","pages":"1459 - 1500"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11482-024-10274-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140573361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dynamic Analysis of Loneliness at Older Ages in Europe by Gender","authors":"Ricardo Pagan, Miguel Angel Malo","doi":"10.1007/s11482-024-10300-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11482-024-10300-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this article, we analyse loneliness trajectories for older people aged 50 or more in selected European countries by gender. We also focus on the relationship between disability and loneliness trajectories. We use three waves of the longitudinal SHARE database. Loneliness trajectories are non-linear, increasing with age for both genders, and have the same shape irrespective of disability status but with different levels of loneliness. Loneliness persistence increases with disability and disability severity, especially for women. Worsening (improving) disability increases (decreases) the risk of loneliness persistence. We build rankings of the country's effects on loneliness persistence by gender. Mediterranean and Eastern European countries have the highest persistence rates, while the lowest rates are in Northern countries.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51483,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research in Quality of Life","volume":"19 4","pages":"1601 - 1630"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11482-024-10300-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140573368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cristian Ortiz, Aldo Salinas, Johanna Alvarado, Viviana Huachizaca
{"title":"How Much are you Willing to Accept for Being Away From Home? Internal Migration and Job Satisfaction Among Formal-Informal Ecuadorian Workers","authors":"Cristian Ortiz, Aldo Salinas, Johanna Alvarado, Viviana Huachizaca","doi":"10.1007/s11482-024-10309-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11482-024-10309-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Recently, migration and migrated distance significantly affects people's mood and satisfaction, and this idea has been recently incorporated in literature. The objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between migrated distance and job satisfaction in Ecuador distinguishing between formal and informal workers. We use a repeated cross-section data from the National Survey of Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment from the period 2014–2017, and ordered probit models with random parameters to meet our objective. Our results suggest that there is a negative and heterogeneous relationship between distance on migration and job satisfaction. Moreover, we found that formal workers should be compensated at $ 0.51 USD and informal workers should be compensated at $ 0.59 USD per kilometer migrated to mitigate the negative impact of migration. These results have important policy implications, for instance, the need to promote labor policies that promote labor well-being and offset the negative effects of long-distance migration.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51483,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research in Quality of Life","volume":"19 4","pages":"1829 - 1857"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140573113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Damilola Adetola Bolaji, Yuehua Wu, Tosin Yinka Akintunde
{"title":"Decomposing Cultural Adaptation and Social Support in Relation to New Media Use and Psychological Well-Being Among Immigrants: a Chain Mediation Model","authors":"Damilola Adetola Bolaji, Yuehua Wu, Tosin Yinka Akintunde","doi":"10.1007/s11482-024-10295-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11482-024-10295-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>New media use contributed to reducing pandemic risks and maintaining interpersonal relationships, but compromised psychological well-being. Until now, it is unclear how immigrants used new media during the pandemic to develop cultural adaptive strategies and gain access to social support beneficial to psychological well-being. This study tests the chain effects of cultural adaptation and social support on the association between new media use and the psychological well-being of immigrants. Cross-sectional data from 612 immigrants from a web-based survey in China was examined through partial least square structural equation models (PLS-SEM). The findings suggest that the independent mediating effect of cultural adaptation in the relationship between new media use and psychological well-being was significant with a dampening effect[<i>β</i> = − 0.098; 95% CI (− 0.135, − 0.069); <i>p</i> < 0.001]. Similarly, the independent mediation effect of social support on the relationship between new media use and psychological well-being was also significant with a negative effect [<i>β</i> = − 0.023; 95% CI (− 0.045, − 0.009); <i>p</i> < 0.05]. However, the chain mediation show a positive outcome such that the chain interaction of cultural adaptation and social support are pathways linking new media use to positive psychological well-being [<i>β</i> = 0.021; 95% CI (0.011, 0.035); <i>p</i> < 0.001], such that new media use enhances psychological well-being through the chain interactions of cultural adaptation and social support of immigrants. This study emphasizes the importance of joint promotion of cultural adaptation and social support in supporting psychological well-being associated with new media use. This study is critical to theories and practices of supporting immigrants during health crises.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51483,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research in Quality of Life","volume":"19 4","pages":"1525 - 1547"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140374044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based intervention on individuals with physical disabilities in China","authors":"Lu-yin Liang, Daniel T. L. Shek","doi":"10.1007/s11482-024-10305-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11482-024-10305-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Individuals with physical disabilities (PD) face many quality of life challenges. In this study, a randomized controlled trial was conducted to investigate the impact of mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on the psychological morbidity (indexed by depression and anxiety), emotional well-being (indexed by mindfulness and self-compassion), and health-related quality of life (QOL) among individuals with PD in China. A total of 512 participants with PD were randomly allocated to either the MBI group or the control group. Participants in the experimental group received an eight-week MBI in four sequential stages with different mindfulness meditation exercises. Results showed that participants who underwent MBI exhibited significantly fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, elevated levels of mindfulness and self-compassion, and enhanced health-related QOL compared to those who did not receive the treatment after intervention. The study yielded promising results for using MBI in promoting the well-being of individuals with PD in China. Suggestions for future research are also highlighted.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51483,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research in Quality of Life","volume":"19 4","pages":"1735 - 1761"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11482-024-10305-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140376106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Temporal Focus Profiles in the College and the Workplace: Exploration and Relationships with Well-being Constructs in Mexico","authors":"Daniel A. Cernas-Ortiz","doi":"10.1007/s11482-024-10298-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11482-024-10298-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Subjective time is fundamental to understanding individuals’ experience of happiness and well-being. More specifically, temporal focus is an individual difference that, as separate dimensions, refers to the attention that people pay to their psychological past, present, and future. Taken together, temporal foci form profiles that are likely to influence well-being across a person´s lifespan. In this context, there is a paucity of research about the influence of temporal focus profiles on many cognitive, affective, and trait-like constructs that are relevant to well-being, in different population segments, and alternative (non-Anglo-Saxon) cultures. To address this void in research, we conducted two cross-sectional, survey-based studies in Mexico. We used two-step cluster analysis to uncover initial temporal focus profiles in undergraduate students (Study 1), and highly educated employees (Study 2). We tested the differences across the profiles that we uncovered in five well-being-related constructs that are relevant to each population segment. Comparing and contrasting the results of the two studies, less variety of temporal focus profiles was found in employees than in students. Also, whereas temporal focus profiles in students exhibited larger differences in affective outcomes (e.g., positive and negative affective well-being), the profiles showed larger differences in cognitive constructs in employees (e.g., occupational self-efficacy, core self-evaluations, and life satisfaction). Overall, the results highlight the importance of identifying and characterizing temporal focus profiles in different population segments, and in different cultures, so as to enable the implementation of nuanced strategies to improve well-being.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51483,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research in Quality of Life","volume":"19 4","pages":"1571 - 1600"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140233889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Roman Kaspar, Andrea Albrecht, Thomas Brijoux, Jonas Fey, Luise Geithner, Veronica Oswald, Marcella Reissmann, Michael Wagner, Judith Wenner, Susanne Zank, Jaroslava Zimmermann
{"title":"Successful Life Conduct in Very Old Age: Theoretical Implications and Empirical Support from a Population-Based Study","authors":"Roman Kaspar, Andrea Albrecht, Thomas Brijoux, Jonas Fey, Luise Geithner, Veronica Oswald, Marcella Reissmann, Michael Wagner, Judith Wenner, Susanne Zank, Jaroslava Zimmermann","doi":"10.1007/s11482-024-10301-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11482-024-10301-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Social survey data on those aged 80 years or older is sparse. Based on a representative sample, this paper validates a multidimensional model proposed for understanding of quality of life (QoL) in very old age. Towards this goal, this paper estimated levels and heterogeneity of personal and environmental resources, well-being, autonomy, and perceived appreciation by society in the population of the very old in Germany. Next, the contribution of personal and environmental resources to QoL outcomes and overlap between these outcomes was estimated using a multivariate approach. Results were based on a representative survey on QoL of the very old in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state. The survey included comprehensive information on socio-demographics, health, social and personal QoL resources including objective testing of cognitive function. The sample comprised 1,863 individuals (mean age 86.5 years, range 80–102 years), including 211 individuals residing in non-private dwellings. Interviews with proxy informants were conducted for 176 individuals that were willing to participate but could not conduct the interview themselves due to limited ability to communicate (PLC). Pronounced differences were found for PLC with respect to environmental and personal resources and QoL outcomes. Pronounced differences were also found both with respect to lower observed levels of QoL outcomes (e.g., autonomy) and predictors of QoL outcomes (e.g., effect of negative “external” appreciation on subjective well-being). Contrary to the deficit-oriented model of old age, a high degree of autonomy was observed. However, substantial and consequential negative “external” appreciation of very old age was also apparent.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51483,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research in Quality of Life","volume":"19 4","pages":"1 - 25"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11482-024-10301-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140235840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Feng Pan, Ningning Feng, Tong Zhao, Yongjie Jiang, Lijuan Cui
{"title":"“Helping Others Makes Me Feel Better”: Trait Gratitude, Resilience, and Helping Behavior Improve Mental Health during a COVID-19 Lockdown","authors":"Feng Pan, Ningning Feng, Tong Zhao, Yongjie Jiang, Lijuan Cui","doi":"10.1007/s11482-024-10299-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11482-024-10299-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Throughout the entire COVID-19 pandemic, physical lockdown restrictions caused a rise in mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and stress. During the pandemic, Chinese universities implemented “dormitory isolation” for students amid outbreaks, requiring them to stay in their university dormitories for several weeks or even months. This study focused on the mental health of these students and investigated how trait gratitude of them was associated with their mental health. Participants were 1,200 college students from a university in China, who experienced a two-week isolation in university dormitories. We used moderated mediation models to analyze their sex, trait gratitude, resilience, mental health, and helping behavior. Higher trait gratitude was associated with higher resilience, which in turn predicted better mental health. The relationship between trait gratitude and resilience was stronger for females who engaged in helping behaviors, while this relationship was weaker for males who engaged in helping behaviors. The findings suggest that trait gratitude of college students can benefit their mental health through their resilience when they encounter stressful contexts such as dormitory lockdown. Meanwhile, this study indicates the important contextual value of engaging in helping behaviors for females during the lockdown.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51483,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research in Quality of Life","volume":"19 3","pages":"1437 - 1457"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140238744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Giovanni Busetta, Maria Gabriella Campolo, Demetrio Panarello
{"title":"Changes in Daily Life Habits during COVID-19 and Their Transitory and Permanent Effects on Italian University Students’ Anxiety Level","authors":"Giovanni Busetta, Maria Gabriella Campolo, Demetrio Panarello","doi":"10.1007/s11482-024-10304-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11482-024-10304-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has produced increases in mental distress, correlated with fear about the future, economic outlook, labor market situation, restriction of individual freedom and behavioral changes. While some of these are associated with the perceived risk of infection, others are linked to the restrictive measures imposed to limit infections. Whatever the reason behind it, the main question to be asked is whether transitory or habitual anxiety levels are affected and, eventually, whether changes in daily life habits could play a role. To answer this question, a survey was administered to thousands of students from three Italian universities. The survey included a psychological test, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, through which it is possible to observe whether the effects of changes in daily life habits impact on transitory (State) and/or habitual (Trait) levels of anxiety. First, the results show that individuals who are habitually characterized by higher levels of anxiety tend to suffer higher increases in transitory anxiety during the pandemic, and that being a woman is associated with increases in both habitual and current anxiety. Furthermore, physical activity, book reading and self-care practices seem to mitigate the increase in anxiety led by the pandemic. While the first and the last have an impact on habitual and current anxiety levels, book reading is only associated with reductions in current anxiety. Finally, increased use of social networks is associated with greater state anxiety levels, while intensive exposure to videogames and movies amplifies trait anxiety.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51483,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research in Quality of Life","volume":"19 4","pages":"1711 - 1733"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140238224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}